In a statement Thursday, the department said the latest decision to deny prosecuting the agents came “after numerous reviews and analyzes of evidence gathered during the investigation of former agents, and reflects the recommendation of experienced prosecutors.”
A report by the chief inspector of the Ministry of Justice found gross failures on the part of the FBI to properly investigate the complaints of gymnasts who told the bureau in 2015 about the abuse. The inspector general found that the agents had lied to investigators, but the Justice Department during the Trump administration and again at the beginning of the Biden administration refused to press charges.
Since July 2015, when U.S. gymnastics officers first notified the FBI of allegations of abuse of Nasar, and September 2016, when the FBI finally began taking significant investigative steps, at least 70 athletes have been abused by him, the inspector general said.
Last October, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced a third review of the investigation of former agents, citing new information that prosecutors are reviewing. Kenneth Polit, Assistant Attorney General, led the final review.
“This in no way reflects the view that Nasar’s investigation was conducted as it should be, nor does it in any way reflect the approval or disregard for the behavior of former agents,” the Justice Ministry said in a statement.
Nassar’s victims, including Olympic gymnasts McKayla Maroni and Simon Byles, appeared before a Senate hearing last year and sharply criticized the FBI and Justice Department for failing to bring charges against the former agents.
John Manley, a lawyer representing the victims, criticized the Justice Department’s recent decision to deny prosecution.
“The continuing failure of the Justice Department to prosecute FBI agents, US gymnasts and USOPC officials who conspired to cover up the biggest sexual assault scandal in the history of the sport is incomprehensible,” Manley said. “On September 13, 2021, gymnasts Simone Bailes, Ali Reisman, McCail Maroni and Maggie Nichols shared heartbreaking testimony before a court panel, pleading for justice and promising action by Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. There was no action for more than six months, and now that promise to the survivors has been broken. “
The FBI apologized for the mistreatment of the Nasar case and said it had adopted a series of recommendations from the inspector general to prevent a recurrence of errors.
The inspector general’s report from last year found that senior officials at the FBI field office in Indianapolis did not respond to Nasar’s allegations with the utmost seriousness and urgency, which they deserved and demanded, and made numerous and fundamental mistakes when responding. , and have violated many FBI policies. in carrying out its investigative activity. The investigation was launched in 2018 to see if the FBI and its field offices had been detained to respond to allegations of sexual violence by gymnasts and the U.S. Gymnastics Organization in 2015 and 2016.
The 119-page report comes just over a year after more than 120 survivors asked the justice ministry to make its findings public. Nasar, 58, is serving a 40- to 174-year sentence in state prison after 156 women and girls say he has sexually abused them for 20 years.
The former US and Michigan State University gymnast pleaded guilty in November 2017 to seven counts of criminal sexual behavior for using his profession as a cover for sexually abusing his patients.
Nasar also pleaded guilty to federal charges of child pornography and separate charges of criminal sexual conduct in Eaton County.
This story has been updated with additional details.
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